The present disclosure relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a program. More particularly, the disclosure relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a program for allowing a user to perform a calibration process in natural, unaffected fashion.
There exists technology called AR (Augmented Reality) whereby the real world is virtually augmented by computer. An application of AR is trying-on of clothes. More specifically, according to the technology, the physical clothes worn by a user in his or her image taken by camera are replaced with virtual clothes so that the user can be seen wearing the virtual clothes (i.e., virtual clothes are overlaid on the user's image).
The AR for try-on purposes adopts motion capture technology for detecting the user's motions using various sensors such as acceleration sensors, geomagnetic sensors, cameras, and range scanners to make the virtual clothes fit on the user's body (i.e., on its image). Specifically, detecting the user's motions means continuously acquiring the positions of the user's joints as the target to be recognized.
The motion capture technology uses either of two techniques: technique with markers, and technique without markers.
The technique with markers involves attaching easily detectable markers to the user's joints. Detecting and acquiring the positions of these markers makes it possible to know the positions of the user's joints as the target to be recognized.
On the other hand, the technique without markers involves processing values obtained from various sensors so as to estimate the positions of the user's joints as the target to be recognized. For example, there exist algorithms for recognizing the user's pose (joint positions) from a depth image (i.e., an image indicative of depth information) taken by a three-dimensional measurement camera capable of detecting the depth distance of an object (e.g., see “Real-Time Human Pose Recognition in Parts from Single Depth Images,” Microsoft Research [online], visited on May 23, 2011 on the Internet <URL: http://research.microsoft.com/pubs/145347/BodyPartRecognition.pdef>).
For the technique without markers to accurately estimate the positions of the user's joints involves acquiring the distances between the joints. Thus before motion capture is started, a calibration process is generally performed to calculate the distances between the joints on the basis of the values obtained by the various sensors. If the distances between the joints have been measured in advance using measuring tapes or the like, the calibration process is omitted.
In the calibration process, if three or more joints of the user to be estimated are arrayed in a straight line, the distances between the joints cannot theoretically be calculated. In such cases, the user has been requested to bend his or her joints into a particular pose called the calibration pose.